Sick teen tells Chilean President she wants to die

A 14-year-old girl hospitalized with cystic fibrosis in Santiago has posted a video message on Facebook asking President Michelle Bachelet to authorize her euthanasia. Mana Rabiee reports.

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From her hospital bed in Santiago, Chile, Fourteen-year-old Valentina Maureira has told her family -- and her country -- she wants to die.
Seen here in December with her father -- Valentina suffers from cystic fibrosis … a genetic condition affecting her lungs and other organs.
She's posted a video on Facebook asking President Michelle Bachelet to authorize her euthanasia -- which is illegal in Chile, as in many countries.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VALENTINA MAUREIRA, TEENAGE GIRL WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS, SAYING:
"I need to talk to the president urgently because I'm tired of living with this illness and she could authorize the injection for me to go to sleep forever."
Valentina's mother Jaquiline Riquelme, says her daughter is determined.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VALENTINA'S MOTHER, JACQUELINE RIQUELME, SAYING:
"Just like her father and family, she is strong."
Officials are in contact with the family, to make sure Valentina's getting the care she needs.
But Deputy Health Minister Jaime Burrows rules out euthanasia.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CHILE'S DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER, JAIME BURROWS, SAYING:
"The value of life has to be respected and it's not possible to artificially accelerate death when one is suffering an illness of this kind."
Doctors say Valentina is condition is stable, not IMMEDIATELY life-threatening.
They've transferred her to the pediatric wing of the hospital, where its hoped she'll remain comfortable.

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